The Gold Pirate

Chapter 17: Ashes Of The Past P3

"Fine by me," Ichigo returned to the voice in his, finally making his way out of his house.

(Karakura Streets)

The young boy made his way through the darkness, trying his best to find the person in distress. Before long, the boy had come across the man, that he recognized as Sora, crawling on the ground in pain while holding his shoulder, breathing heavily and coughing. Behind the poor older brother was what could only be described as a monster.

A drooling maw found on its mask-like face with a black body, stalking Sora as its prey. Approaching the injured man as slowly as possible, seemingly enjoying the man's helpless state before delivering the finishing blow.

'Sora!' Ichigo shouted in his mind, ready to burst from his hiding place, behind a building, to go assist the brother of his friend.

'Wait, Ichigo! Something is wrong with the beast,' the voice in the boy's head spoke up, halting his advance.

Ichigo made to speak to the voice but covered his mouth when he remembered where he was. Instead, the boy thought his words to his mysterious watcher, 'What are you talking about?' he peeked around the corner and saw that what the voice said was true.

The masked monstrosity looked terrified as it backed away from the injured Sora. It shook with a deep-seated terror when its eyes laid upon three figures.

Ichimaru Gin,Tōsen Kaname...

...and Vice Admiral Aizen Sōsuke.

With each step the three took toward the downed Sora, the beast would take one backward while submissively lowering its head.

'See, look I didn't have to come out here after all. The marines have it handled,' Ichigo smiled. He decided to stick around and get an exclusive look at the marines in action.

The voice decided to stay silent, observing with a critical eye just what would happen next.

"Thank you, Vice Admiral! I thought I was done for," Sora propped himself up using his arm, a grateful smile on his face as he raised his hand up for the marine to take. "I never imagined that the monster would come for me, I thought I'd die here and leave Orihime alone..." Sora began to tear up, "I have to get back to her, she must be worried sick."

"Yes, you do," the Vice Admiral kept his soft smile on his face...

*Shunk*

...as he plunged his sword into Sora's shoulder.

It took both Ichigo and Sora a second to register what had just happened, the spurt of blood that came from the downed man had shocked the two back to reality. Sora slowly traced his gaze from the sword to where it was currently lodged in his shoulder and screamed into the empty streets.

'What's he doing!?' Ichigo made to leave his hiding spot, only for his new guardian to stop him.

'Ichigo! There's nothing you can do!'

'You can't expect me to just watch this!' Ichigo shot back.

'I do. Things have gotten a lot more complicated...the best course of action is to gather information and report to a higher authority,' the voice reasoned, though he could tell that the boy didn't like the idea.

"Vi-Vice Admiral *huff-huff* wh-why?" Sora asked with his teeth grit and blood leaking from his mouth.

"Simple...because agitation and heightened emotions make the process go so much faster," the smiling man explained.